The Eldest Daughter Returns: Imperial Uncle, I'm Pregnant!

"It really is Duke Wen?" the Fifth Prince exclaimed in shock. "Is Duke Wen trying to kill the Crown Prince?"

"No!" The assassin's eyes widened when he heard that the Crown Prince had been assassinated. "We did not receive orders to assassinate the Crown Prince, and we did not know that the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, and the Fifth Prince were in this place before we came."

"Aren't you all incredibly audacious?" the Fifth Prince exclaimed in shock. "Could it be that you've come to assassinate Uncle Chu? You're all incredibly bold, aren't you tired of living?"

"No, and we're not here to assassinate the prince."

Everyone then looked at Gu Qingwan, and the Fifth Prince said, "To assassinate the Princess Consort of Chu?"

"It was the young lady who said she hoped the Duke could teach the Princess Consort of Chu a lesson," the man said in a low voice.

The King of Chu said in a deep voice, "Oh, tell me what your plan is?"

The assassin remained silent. He had been trained by the Duke of Wen, yet he had betrayed his master. Logically, he should have died immediately, but he could not withstand the torture, or rather, he simply did not dare to face such cruel punishment.

"Speak!" Xiao Yi kicked him so hard that his ribs broke, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Our goal was to kidnap Princess Chu. We had already arranged for someone to lure away the maids around her. However, we didn’t expect that the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince would also be here. Of course, we know how powerful the Prince is, and we also know that the Crown Prince has guards around him. So we sent some people to pretend to attack the Prince and the Crown Prince, so that it would be easier to attack the Princess. Then… then…” The assassin dared not speak. He was inexplicably afraid of the Prince Chu’s gaze.

"Say!"

"Then someone told us that the princess knew martial arts, so we prepared sleeping pills, thinking of taking the princess out and then finding someone to humiliate her, so that the princess would..." The assassin's eyes bulged out before he could finish speaking, and he stopped breathing.

It was the King of Chu who made the move, killing him directly with his internal force. The Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince never expected that the King of Chu's martial arts skills would be so abnormal. Fortunately, they did not oppose the King of Chu, otherwise... The Fifth Prince touched his neck. He could not afford to offend the King of Chu and his wife, as they were both more abnormal than the other.

"This Duke Wen is too audacious! Imperial Uncle, I'm going to smash the Wen family's gate to pieces right now to avenge my Imperial Aunt!" said the Fifth Prince.

"Fifth Brother, don't be impulsive. We have no evidence. If you go, you'll only give others something to say."

"We've already caught the assassin, isn't that enough?"

"Even if the assassins were alive, what could you do if you brought them there and the Duke of Wen didn't acknowledge you? Besides, your grandmother would be unhappy if you went there, and your mother wouldn't have a good time then."

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's analysis, the Fifth Prince fell silent. Yes, he could act with impunity, but it was a pity for his mother. She was already cautious in the harem, and if he caused trouble again, even the Empress Dowager couldn't protect her.

Thinking of this, the Fifth Prince was somewhat dejected.

"You are only allowed to stay here for one night. Get out of here tomorrow!" King Chu issued a direct order to leave, and the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince quickly departed.

"Xiao Yi, go and lead the way for the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince. Have the steward arrange the hot spring pool, and also take care of the guards around the courtyard," Gu Qingwan instructed.

After they all left, only Gu Qingwan and Xiao Jingchen remained in the room.

"Your Highness, please don't be angry. I'm fine." Gu Qingwan walked behind Xiao Jingchen and massaged his shoulders.

Xiao Jingchen sighed and pulled the person into his arms.

"The Duke of Wen's target is not you; he is merely using the pretext of avenging his daughter. Do you remember when you met me at the estate after returning to the capital?"

"I remember you had a fever back then. Could it be that the last assassination attempt was orchestrated by Duke Wen? But didn't you say you were a member of the martial arts world?"

“I had Xiao Jia and the others investigate. It was indeed Duke Wen who hired someone to kill someone. Although he didn’t do it personally and it was done very discreetly, there are still some clues to be found.”

"What exactly does the Duke of Wen want to do? What benefits will he gain from doing this?"

Xiao Jingchen remained silent. What benefit could he possibly gain? All he had done was for that position. It seemed that Duke Wen was now standing behind the Third Prince, but why hadn't any trace of their interaction been discovered?

"Don't worry, Wanwan, I will avenge you. He wants to avenge his daughter, so it is only right for me to avenge my woman!"

Early the next morning, the King of Chu sent away the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, and the Fifth Prince's entourage. The couple felt there was nothing to do back home, so they decided to stay another day.

Gu Qingwan and Siqi were strolling around the back mountain when they came across a house. From a distance, they saw golden persimmon cakes drying in the yard. Gu Qingwan realized she hadn't eaten these in a long time, so she and Siqi knocked on the door to buy some.

"If this lady likes it, there isn't much left. I'll have my wife pack some for her to try." The farmer was very hospitable.

"Thank you very much, brother. We have the money with us. You can sell it to us at the market price."

"I don't need your money. These persimmons are all wild from the mountain. I just thought it was a pity that they fell on the ground, so I picked them up. I was thinking that there would be nothing to eat in winter, so these would fill my stomach. I didn't expect you to like them so much. You can take them all. There are many more in the mountains. I will go and pick more tomorrow."

Just then, a brightly dressed woman came into the house.

"Is Sister Li home? Sister Li, this is the basket you lent me last time, here you go." The woman pushed open the door and came into the yard. She saw Gu Qingwan and Siqi. She could tell from their clothes that they were not cheap, and that they were obviously ladies from wealthy families. She wanted to leave immediately, but Gu Qingwan saw her.

"Oh, Brother Li and Sister-in-law Li have guests? I'll come back later."

"It's alright, it's alright. This lady likes my persimmon cakes. Sister Song, why don't you take some back with you?" Sister Li walked away from her husband and went to the door to chat with the person returning the basket.

"Thank you for your kindness, Sister Li. I get leprosy rashes after eating persimmons, so I dare not eat them. Since you have guests here, I'll take my leave now and come back to chat with you another day."

"Hey, look at my memory, I completely forgot! Please don't mind, cute girl. Okay then, let's chat again another day!"

Gu Qingwan narrowed her eyes as she stared at the departing figure at the door. Why did that person's figure look so familiar?

"Madam, I've already paid. Let's go," Siqi said, holding up the wrapped persimmon cakes.

Gu Qingwan then came to her senses, just as Aunt Li returned and said, "Madam, please take some more. This young lady has given too much. These persimmon cakes are not worth that much money."

"It's alright, please accept it, Sister Li. May I ask who that person was just now?"

"Her surname is Song. People around here call her Madam Song. She's a very nice person. How come you know her, Madam?"

Gu Qingwan smiled and shook her head, saying, "I don't know him. I just thought he was very good-looking, so I wanted to ask him. I didn't expect there to be such a good-looking person here."

"That Lady Song is indeed beautiful, to be honest, Madam," Sister-in-law Li said in a low voice. "Everyone is saying that this Lady Song might be the mistress of some wealthy family. Look at her clothes and appearance, she doesn't seem like a countrywoman, does she?"

"Is that from our village?"

"No, no, she just rents a courtyard here and doesn't own any land. But Madam Song is very good at embroidery. Every girl in our area who gets married will have Madam Song embroider a veil. Madam, would you like to have Madam Song embroider something as well?"

"No, it's just that I can't help but ask a few more questions when I see good-looking people. Sorry to bother you, brother and sister-in-law. We'll take our leave now."

"Oh, oh, oh, no trouble at all. If Madam wants to eat persimmon cakes again in the future, just send someone from the family over and we can deliver them to her."

"Thank you very much."

After walking for a while, Siqi asked, "Your Highness, why did you inquire about that woman from earlier?"

"I just felt that some of those people looked familiar. Anyway, Siqi, we've been out for a while now, let's go back."

"Yes, Your Highness."

After returning, Gu Qingwan sat by the hot spring, eating persimmon cakes while soaking in the hot spring with Xiao Jingchen.

"What are you thinking about?" Xiao Jingchen asked.

"It's nothing. I just met a very pretty woman when I was buying persimmon cakes today. I felt like I recognized her, but after thinking for a long time, I couldn't remember ever seeing her before."

"Perhaps you are mistaken; there are many people in the world with similar body shapes."

"Perhaps." Gu Qingwan figured that since she couldn't remember, she might as well not think about it anymore, so she focused her attention on Xiao Jingchen: "How is Your Highness feeling?"

"This hot spring is indeed a wonderful thing. I feel that all the meridians in my body have been opened up, and I have also absorbed the internal energy generated by the pills you gave me before."

Gu Qingwan nodded, "That's good. It seems we can return to the capital tomorrow."

"It's time to go back. The envoy from the North should arrive tomorrow."

As expected, Gu Qingwan and Xiao Jingchen's carriage encountered the Northern Border delegation at the city gate when they returned to the capital.

"The envoy from the Northern Border pays his respects to the King of Chu. We are overjoyed that His Highness has come to greet us personally today."

The envoys from the northern border assumed that the King of Chu was personally arranged by the Emperor of Daqing to receive them. They had inquired about the King of Chu thoroughly and found that his status was second only to the Emperor. It seemed that the Emperor of Daqing still valued and feared the northern border.

Xiao Jingchen didn't get out of the carriage, but just sat there and snorted coldly: "You guys have a lot of nerve."

After saying that, Xiao Yi drove the carriage into the city. Suddenly, a person got out of one of the carriages of the Northern Expedition. The person was extremely beautiful and of indistinguishable gender.

"It's been a long time, Princess Chu."

Gu Qingwan immediately recognized that the person was clearly targeting her. She opened the carriage curtain and took a closer look. The person was wearing a red robe with a white fox fur cloak over it, which made his face look as beautiful as a peach blossom.

Gu Qingwan smiled, "I didn't expect the person who came would be the Second Prince Bafianyu. I can't accept the title of 'long time no see' from this princess. People who don't know us would think we have a very good relationship."

"What you're saying, Princess Chu, are you saying we're old acquaintances, and even... well, you know, physically..." Bafian Yu suddenly clutched his chest, frowning as he looked at Gu Qingwan's curtains and the person sitting behind her...

"Let's go, the Third Prince will be here to entertain Prince Buffy in a bit." Xiao Jingchen pulled Gu Qingwan back, and the carriage curtain was lowered to block Buffy Anyu's view.

After Xiao Jingchen and the others left, Situ Anyu saw the Third Prince coming over to meet with the delegation. He returned to his carriage, not intending to exchange any pleasantries with the Third Prince.

It was only because a trickle of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth as soon as he got into the carriage.

“Second Prince…” Mei’er, the maidservant serving him, nervously supported him.

"Mei'er, don't worry. I just didn't expect the King of Chu's internal strength to be so powerful. I underestimated him."

"Why would the prince go to see that Gu Qingwan? She's a jinx; nothing good ever comes of it when the prince sees her," Mei'er said unhappily.

“Mei’er!” Bafian warned unhappily. “I don’t want to hear you say such things again.”

"But……"

"Remember, why did we come to Daqing?"

Mei'er looked like a wilted eggplant, silently pouring Bafianyu a glass of water. Bafianyu leaned against the carriage and gave a bitter smile.

He was aware of his father's plans this time, but he didn't expect his father to abandon him. But it was fine, because now he had nothing to worry about.

Gu Qingwan poked the chest of the person next to her: "There's no need for that."

"Humph."

"Are you angry?"

"Ah."

"What's there to be angry about?"

"Humph."

Gu Qingwan was speechless. Why was Xiao Jingchen getting angry more and more often? She patiently tried to coax him.

“That Bafianyu is the second prince of the Northern Territory. I met him before when I was with my maternal grandfather at Yunhun Pass. At that time, I often disguised myself as a man and followed my maternal grandfather to the battlefield. I also fought Bafianyu a few times, but that’s all.”

Xiao Jingchen hugged Gu Qingwan and said, "I'm not angry with you, I just don't like that person who looks like a woman talking to you."

Gu Qingwan smiled gently, "Is Your Highness jealous because he's good-looking?"

"Why would I, the king, be jealous of someone who is neither male nor female! Nonsense!"

Xiao Jingchen wouldn't admit it, but deep down he did feel a sense of crisis when he saw Bafian Yu's handsome face, which was so good that even women would be ashamed, through the corner of the carriage curtain. But then he thought that his Wanwan was not such a shallow person.

In short, whether she's pretty or not, Wanwan is unhappy whenever a man talks to her.

"I only like men with a manly spirit like Your Highness. I don't like anyone else." Gu Qingwan leaned against him, comforting the jealous man.

Although Xiao Jingchen didn't say anything, Gu Qingwan could clearly feel that he was in a better mood, and his muscles were no longer so stiff.

"The envoy from the North has arrived in the capital. It looks like a welcoming banquet will be held tomorrow night."

"Yes, as is customary."

"I have to deal with a bunch of women again, it's so tiring." Thinking about those cunning women, Gu Qingwan felt truly exhausted.

"If you don't like it, we can stay in the Prince's Mansion and not go there."

"That won't do. People will say that Your Highness is arrogant and disrespectful."

"I am not afraid."

"I want to go, okay? It's been so long since I've seen Princess Qinghe and Yanran. They'll definitely be there tomorrow."

As Gu Qingwan spoke, she lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and, to her surprise, saw that familiar figure, Madam Song, again. Gu Qingwan pondered to herself, "No, I must have seen this figure somewhere before, especially her face. It looks so familiar. I have to remember."